I said 'be it for whoever' in as much as I meant that love is not just there to be shared by only heterosexual couples. Love is just a word - the actual manifestation of goodness, and mutual help and support etc isn't tied up in a word. I do get what you are saying, I really do - but it's up to each and every one of us to separate the ins and outs of what we believe to be good and bad. I'm not going to think my son is a bad person because he loves another man. I'm not going to think my daughter is a bad person because she loves another woman. Yes - generalisations should definitely be avoided at all costs.

I agree with almost all of what you say. Love is just a word and in our society mostly thought of as romantic love. But I don't think each and every one of us is allowed to separate the ins and outs of what we believe to be good and bad. Some are compelled to believe the received wisdom which is "in" at the moment. Beliefs which are fashionable now were deeply unfashionable fifty years ago and who knows what will be the "in" belief in another ffifty years.

I agree with almost all of what you say. Love is just a word and in our society mostly thought of as romantic love. But I don't think each and every one of us is allowed to separate the ins and outs of what we believe to be good and bad. Some are compelled to believe the received wisdom which is "in" at the moment. Beliefs which are fashionable now were deeply unfashionable fifty years ago and who knows what will be the "in" belief in another ffifty years.

I guess we just have to go beyond what's fashionable and follow our own truth. Easy to say - but hard to do.

The way I look at it is live and let live. I see no harm in it let's face it if you find someone you love weather same sex or traditional as long as you love each other and make a commitment to each other thats good enough for me.

^ Agreed. Love - or mutual respect, or just wanting good things for yourself and another person, surely isn't defined by what what sex you want it for. Surely it's good enough just to have the wanting in your heart.

^ Agreed. Love - or mutual respect, or just wanting good things for yourself and another person, surely isn't defined by what what sex you want it for. Surely it's good enough just to have the wanting in your heart.

For me, love is something thats transcends self - takes you beyond your own reality to be subsumed in something other. It can relate to all manner of things - other people, younger or older, male or female. living or dead, animals or even concrete or abstract concepts like art, music and mathematics. And it may last a lifetime, or wither and die in a season.

Me too, of course; but the sense of otherness that comes with great works of art is wired into the brain in the same way. It's probably no coincidence either that many of them are inspired by human love, though. Dante's Paradise and Wagners' Tristan und Isolde and Die Walkure would be two good examples.

Me too, of course; but the sense of otherness that comes with great works of art is wired into the brain in the same way. It's probably no coincidence either that many of them are inspired by human love, though. Dante's Paradise and Wagners' Tristan und Isolde and Die Walkure would be two good examples.

It's nice to show 'love' in that way - but all the better to share it with your fellow man, I feel.

Me too, of course; but the sense of otherness that comes with great works of art is wired into the brain in the same way. It's probably no coincidence either that many of them are inspired by human love, though. Dante's Paradise and Wagners' Tristan und Isolde and Die Walkure would be two good examples.

In Wagner's case a lot of hate existed alongside the love which inspired Tristan and Die Walkure. I think love can often be totally selfish and our idea of romantic love distorts and simplifies the whole matter,

In Wagner's case a lot of hate existed alongside the love which inspired Tristan and Die Walkure. I think love can often be totally selfish and our idea of romantic love distorts and simplifies the whole matter,